Official AR Turntable Owners Thread

What I do is fill the well all the way up with BrakeKleen and let it set for a day. It will soften the foam to where you can scrape it off with a flat screwdriver. It will also float that Delrin plate to the top of the well.
 
Oh ok that part looks fine on my turntable.

That weird brown crusty stuff on top of the well however: should that be scraped off?
Yes. Make sure you get every last bit of it. Swab the area out with IPA (not the beer) on a Q-Tip.
 
Whatever that stuff is it won't come off for me. Since the platter doesn't touch it anyway I guess I may as well leave it alone?

Another thing I realized is that the pulley isn't exactly tight on the motor shaft. I always noticed a bit of a buzz sound when starting the turntable and I know why now. Initially it slides a little bit (shaft inside pulley).

Is that fine / normal? Or should something go in there to make it stick more to the motor shaft?
 
That black gunk ends up in the well and fouls the oil so I think you need to be more aggressive to get rid of it. I recall others have soaked it to help remove it. The buzz you are hearing is that the motor always has some current to it so it is OK the motor shaft/pulley vibrate a little when the TT is plugged in. The pulley should be snug on the motor shaft.
 
That black gunk ends up in the well and fouls the oil so I think you need to be more aggressive to get rid of it. I recall others have soaked it to help remove it. The buzz you are hearing is that the motor always has some current to it so it is OK the motor shaft/pulley vibrate a little when the TT is plugged in. The pulley should be snug on the motor shaft.

I did notice the vibration but that's not what I meant here.

When the TT starts there's some slippage at first between pulley and shaft. The platter reaches the right speed but initially that slippage is present.

Not sure that's normal and / or whether there's a way to get the pulley to fit slightly tighter?
 
I did notice the vibration but that's not what I meant here.

When the TT starts there's some slippage at first between pulley and shaft. The platter reaches the right speed but initially that slippage is present.

Not sure that's normal and / or whether there's a way to get the pulley to fit slightly tighter?

Thanks for clarifying. The pulley on my XB fits snugly on the motor shaft and maybe others can chime in regarding their particular TTs. Can you easily twist the pulley when it is on the motor shaft? Does the slip occur during the time the platter is coming up to speed? Just reminder, but the belt should slip on the edge of the inner platter at startup. Mine makes kind of creaking noise for a revolution or two before reaching speed.
 
Thanks for clarifying. The pulley on my XB fits snugly on the motor shaft and maybe others can chime in regarding their particular TTs. Can you easily twist the pulley when it is on the motor shaft? Does the slip occur during the time the platter is coming up to speed? Just reminder, but the belt should slip on the edge of the inner platter at startup. Mine makes kind of creaking noise for a revolution or two before reaching speed.

Ah! That's what I needed to hear. That's what mine does as well. It's all when it's coming up to speed.

That said I can hold the pulley and the shaft will slip inside but it's not super loose.

I guess it's normal then!

I will say my belt is VERY loose. It doesn't slide off but it feels like it could! Is that correct or should I get a new one?
 
Ah! That's what I needed to hear. That's what mine does as well. It's all when it's coming up to speed.

That said I can hold the pulley and the shaft will slip inside but it's not super loose.

I guess it's normal then!

I will say my belt is VERY loose. It doesn't slide off but it feels like it could! Is that correct or should I get a new one?

I'd suggest a new belt and treat it with talcum powder (if you can find it) before it is installed. I use nitrile gloves to avoid getting any oil from my hands on the belt and I always give the platter a little nudge at startup to avoid putting too much stress on the belt. Lastly, I clean the edge of the inner platter with rubbing alcohol. Any gunk on the inner platter will interfere with the belt slip. Enjoy!
 
Also what is supposed to be where the gunk is? A rubber ring or something?

Found this pic ...
What is that?

Screenshot_20220506-223407.png
 
Question for the group: what diameters are the spindle / tone arm thrust bearings? Does it happen to be 7mm or 9/32"? Thanks.
 
Question for the group: what diameters are the spindle / tone arm thrust bearings? Does it happen to be 7mm or 9/32"? Thanks.


I use a Swiss Jewel Sapphire window W9.53 and its between .370/.380" so as the part number would suggest 9.53 mm or .375"

W9.58 might be better as its a little thicker , closer to 1mm the W9.53 is close to .5mm .


Athanasios
 
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Sitting here on a Friday night, listening to Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark" on an AR XB that introduced me to Marc Morin. He ultimately reworked it and maxed it out. He unselfishly taught me so much without really knowing it. I cannot tell you guys how fortunate I was to get to know him and spend time with him, or how fortunate we all were to consider him a friend. I ran by his house the other day when i was in the area hoping to see if his wife was home. No one was there.

Here's to Marc and the ways he helped us enjoy music more, and made us better.
 

Thanks - I'm actually not looking for an AR table. I have another table that takes a 7MM trust bearing, and I was trying to see if the AR tables used the same size. Seems like the answer is no.

But, the info here is great. The table I have uses a magnetic spindle (so not Aluminum, shiny so probably stainless (?) but probably not 304SS since it's magnetic), I need to research in the thread whether magnetic steel is too hard or if it'll work with a sapphire thrust washer, or if I need to see if I can find a 7mm piece of Delrin or something else.
 
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